


Team MACT - The Gems

by AngelofSomeday



Category: RWBY
Genre: Canon Compliant, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-04
Updated: 2019-06-17
Packaged: 2019-07-07 01:21:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15898029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelofSomeday/pseuds/AngelofSomeday
Summary: In hopes of making amends with herself, young faunus Blaze Mahogany arrives at Beacon Academy in order to learn a path worth following.Soon, she finds herself spearheading the loyal and somewhat eccentric team MACT (Malachite) in the process of understanding their backgrounds, their goals, and their own personalities and inner ghosts.





	1. The Amber

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, this is Angela/Someday, thank you very much for stopping by~
> 
> This is my first fic, in which i feature my daughter Blaze, as well as her teammates Aurore (Created by @bumbiby on Twitter), Alice (@detectiveconyan) and Tulip (@yukiiwodashite) and i hope you enjoy my writing.
> 
> If you'd like to help me improve, please leave your Kudos and comments with what i can do better!

_Sunshine and blue sky. Below, a city with conical buildings and crowded streets._

_These elements paved most of the view of the awed, excited teenagers looking out of the window of the airship. Their excitement is not without reason; all of those on board are en route to the glorious Beacon Academy, one of the bastions of hope dedicated to training and shaping those who would protect humanity and its creations._

_All of them – well, most of them, she thought – sought to step out of the academy with the prestige and light of being called Huntsmen and Huntresses._

_In sum, heroes._

“Heroes...” _the contemplative girl thought to herself, hands on her hips, feeling the sunlight against her snow-pale skin._

_The girl was tapping her fingers in rhythm with the beat of the song playing in her head and half-mindedly looking out the window, having nothing else to pay attention to._

_That is, until a holographic projection started broadcasting a news channel about a Faunus protest. Her light gray lynx ear turned sideways in response to her change in focus._

“Thank you, Cyril. In other news, this Saturday's Faunus Civil Rights protest turned dark when members of the White Fang disrupted the ceremony. The once peaceful organization has now disrupted...”

_She sighed and brought her hand to her head to cover her eyes in frustration knowing events like this only worsened the image of the Faunus. Being a Faunus herself, she knows she, too, may have to suffer from the consequences. It was common knowledge for her kind. And she is more than prepared._

_There was barely any time to worry as the projection flickered from the news channel to the avatar of a woman, calling out to all passengers._

“Hello, and welcome to Beacon! My name is Glynda Goodwitch. You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy!”

_She stepped closer to the now curious group of students gathering around the woman. Being taller than most, she could stay on the backline and still have a good view._

“Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world.”

“You’d be shocked.” _She thought again._

_Soon, the projection faded, and the shining Tower of Beacon came into view, set atop a tall cliff. More students started gathering near the window._

_The girl had to step aside for an extremely airsick blonde boy to run past, gurgling as he could barely keep his guts inside him. She raised an eyebrow and smirked in amusement._

_And, soon, it was docking time. Everyone walks out of the ship. Some run. And it is one of the runners that catches the attention of our protagonist – specifically in the form of hitting her in the shoulder and falling down to the ground._

“Holy pajamas, that hurt. That’s some muscle you’ve got! Ah, my coin! Mycoinmycoinmycoin...”

_The other girl on the ground adjusts her glasses and crawls on the ground in search of an object. The lynx faunus looks down at her feet and locates it quickly, grabbing it and holding it up to eye-level._

“This one?” _she asks, offering her other hand to help the fallen girl._

“YES! That’s it! Thank you very much, lady, what is your name?”

“Blaze Mahogany.”

“My pleasure to meet you! I’m Chloe Llyn, and thanks for saving my coin!” _The girl says, taking the coin from Blaze’s hand. Blaze took note of her appearance while she got up, for future reference._

_Chloe has aqua hair, flowing long but wish a single braid as a sidebang. Her outfit, while having armor in her shoulder and left knee, bares plenty of skin and allows her to move very freely and keep her body at a pleasant temperature. On her large belt is what Blaze could only assume is her emblem: A seashell surrounded by six tentacles._

“Likewise. May i ask, why are you so distressed over one coin?”

“I collect coins! Rare ones, at that. And... other shiny stuff. Speaking of which, that is a pretty jewel you wear!” _The girl replies, eyeing the golden chain surrounding Blaze’s lynx ears from which hangs an amber-colored jewel on her forehead._

_Blaze furrows her thick brows in an attempt to understand Chloe’s odd passion._ “Rare... coins?”

“Exactly. These ones, for example, were made to celebrate of the inauguration of the first CCT Tower! Look, one of the faces is an engraving of it!”

_Chloe shows the coin to Blaze, which, indeed, has an engraving of the CCT Tower._

“I understand. Well, i am glad to have been of help.”

“Thank you once again, Blaze! I’ll catch you around!”, _the glasses girl replies, pocketing her coin and running off with a wave. Blaze raises her hand in response, starting to walk herself._

_She looks around, her dull green eyes taking in every detail she can of her new ambient. This Academy is what she is supposed to call home from this point onward._

_She sees a number of students in the courtyard. Notable figures include an equally pale, white-haired girl scolding a smaller, red-hooded girl for knocking over her luggage. Upon inspection, she could see the Schnee Dust Company logo on the boxes. Not long after, there is a Dust explosion in the general vicinity of the two girls. Blaze widens her eyes in response, her eyes following a red Dust vial that is rolling on the ground while slightly smiling at the unexpected situation she just watching unfold._

_Soon it reaches a stop at the heeled feet of a way too familiar figure. Her smirk turns into a wide mouth as she is filled with disbelief, stopping her dead in her tracks._

“...Bull-to-the-shit.”

_She focuses all of her attention on the black-haired girl, who not once lifts her eyes from her book as she picks up the vial from the ground. Blaze knew the girl far too well for her own pleasure. Yet, despite that, she felt like she had to make sure she wasn’t being deceived by her own mind._

_Quickly she realized that no, she wasn’t._

_The very Blake Belladonna was, indeed, on the same grounds as her. She observed Blake as she went to join the first two girls and took this opportunity to walk past them, looking on, trying to control the cascade of questions that have just stirred in her head._

_She reaches the courtyard statue, observing it from top to bottom; the heroic figures brandishing their gleaming weapons and the bestial Creature of Grimm they have triumphed over._

_Blaze takes another look behind her, where she last saw Blake, while she opened the Academy’s wooden doors. She stopped and looked at her hand, enveloped by a leather glove which bared her fingers. Brandishing her black claws, she reels her head back and sighs as she retracts them into normal nails._

“This ought to be a good four years.”


	2. The Amethyst

“So... many... people...” _is all Blaze could think as she made her way to a good spot in the uncomfortably crowded auditorium. Eventually she found a good space in one of the front rows, which accomodated her large physique while not obstructing the vision of any of her peers._

_Her hands behind her back, Blaze observes the auditorium and sees no sign of Blake or Chloe, but she does spot other familiar individuals; to her immediate left, is the motion-sick blonde boy from the airship she came in, and to her right, further off, are the white-haired girl, once again scolding the shorter girl with the red hood, now accompanied by a taller, gold-haired young woman with mechanical bracelets of some sort._

_In an attempt to settle down her own thoughts and make time pass faster, she attempts to make conversation._

“Are you alright?” _she asks to the blonde, who is slightly startled by the sudden interaction._

“Oh! Uhm, yeah! Yes, I’m good, heh, why do you ask?” _He asks, having some difficulty comprehending her question._

“You threw up on the airship.” _She replies._ “I arrived in the same one as you.”

 _His expression becomes that of frustration and he slouches over._ “Ah you saw that.”

“Yes... air rides can be tough. Are you feeling better now?”

 _He stands upright once again and smiles at her inquisition._ “Why, yes I am. The name’s Jaune Arc. Nice to meet you.” _He says, one fist to his hip, pointing to his own chest._

 _Blaze rolls her eyes while smiling at his exaggerated confidence and places her fingers to her chest._ “Blaze Mahogany. The pleasure is mine.”

 _He fumbles a bit with words before continuing the conversation._ “So, heh... I... Nice ears, Blaze! What are they? I-if that’s appropriate to ask.”

“Don’t fret. They’re lynx. My dad is a Faunus, my mom is human. I got the short end of the deal.”

“Well, I think they look good on you.”

“Thank you, Jaune. I’ll admit having them does come with its advantages.” _Her right ear tilts to the right, followed by her head._ “For example, the short one over there is talking about you.”

 _He looks over at the white-haired girl who is in the middle of a banter towards the red-hooded one._ “...tall, blonde and... SCRAGGLY over there!”

 _He only reacts to this with a confused_ “Hm?”

_Blaze and Jaune, along with all other students, are caught off-guard by the sound of the mic adjusting. Upon the stage, now stands an eccentric-looking man, with white hair, glasses and a green suit. In his left hand rests a silver cane. This is the one individual that brought all of the students together:_

“Ozpin.” _Blaze says to herself._

 _The man begins to talk, in a detached, almost robotic manner._ “I'll... keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction.”

_Blaze trades confused looks with Jaune, as do all the students in the auditorium. Some whisper among themselves before Ozpin’s speech resumes._

“You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step.”

_As he walks away from the stage, Glynda takes his place and gives an announcement._

“You will gather in the ballroom tonight; tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed.”

 _Glynda also leaves after Ozpin. Jaune looks at Blaze excitedly._ “What did Weiss call me?”

 _She gives him a half-hearted smile._ “...Tall and blonde.”

“Thanks Blaze, you’re the best!” _Jaune replies, sneaking off to greet Weiss. Blaze raises a hand in farewell._

* * *

 

_At night time, all of the students are gathered for rest time while they are not granted dorms, scattered around with their sleeping bags._

_Blaze is sitting on her own sleeping bag with a olive green backpack by her side, clad in a burgundy-colored, cotton bralette with the emblem of a burning tree embroidered on her left breast, and black sweatpants. Her scroll illuminates her face as she plays a game of a rabbit who gathers keys to free another rabbit from a cage. As she completes a level, she hears a quiet voice nearby._

“Hi, Blaze.” _Says the voice._

_Blaze turns her head to meet it, and easily recognizes its source._

“Hello, Chloe. How was your day?”

_Chloe, dressed in a button-up turquoise pajama set and with her braid undone, sits closer to Blaze._

“About what you’d expect. Explored the school, met a couple people, didn’t like anyone... well, except for that one person there.” _She gestures to a sleeping bag in the other side of the room. In it resides a girl with short black hair in deep slumber and earphones on her ears._

“SHE HAS A METAL HAND!~ Her name is Ashley, by the way. I’ll introduce you two as soon as i have the chance. Oh, and... i’m sorry we didn’t get to talk much after we landed. How are you doing?”

“Fine, I think. I met just one guy, his name is Jaune. He’s nice, but... really dorky.”

“...Is he Vomit Boy?”

“He’s Vomit Boy.”

“Gosh darn it.”

_Blaze chuckles to this reaction. She then averts her eyes to see the shimmer of a candle, and with it, Blake sitting on the floor reading a book._

“That girl over there...”

_Chloe turns around to look at her and adjusts her glasses._

“Blake?”

“You know her?” _Blaze asks, slightly distressed._

“No, just overheard her name when she was talking to other two people.” _Chloe turns back to Blaze._ “Do YOU know her?”

“Let’s say we... go back a ways. It feels weird to see her again.”

“I understand. Lissen, don’t be nervous! Seeing her again means another opportunity to make a friend, right? And if you need anything, i’ll be over here.”

_Blaze’s face and ears fail to hide her conflict. Chloe puts a comforting hand on her shoulder._

“It will all be okay, Blaze. Here, watch.”

_Chloe pulls a coin from her pocket and holds it in her right hand. She then rolls up her left sleeve, places the coin in her left hand, and rolls up the right sleeve. Then, she offers her left hand to Blaze._

“Oh, thank y–”

_Chloe opens her left hand to reveal it’s completely empty._

“The heck.” _Blaze says, deadpan._

_Chloe offers her the coin with her right hand. Blaze takes it, flabbergasted._

“One for the road.”

“Won’t... you miss it?”

“It’s a duplicate.” _Chloe says, getting up to leave._ “Take good care of it for me.”

“I will. Good night, Chloe.”

“Sleep well, Blaz–”

“OH, NOT YOU AGAIN!” _They hear people yelling in the corner Blake was sitting and turn to watch, startled. Weiss, the blonde girl and the crimson-haired girl are arguing against each other._

“It’ll be a long night.” _Chloe says, turning to Blaze with an awkward smile._

“Then, let’s dream some good things.” _Blaze replies smiling softly, before turning off her scroll and letting herself fall into her pillow._

* * *

 

_Morning rises, the sun bathing the face of all students inside the ballroom. Having rested well, Blaze showers and changes into her usual crop top, ripped jeans and boots outfit, one she has found most balanced in mobility, comfort and personal style._

_She takes her time brushing her teeth, having her breakfast pancakes and apples, and packing her pajamas and hygiene products back up into her backpack. Along with the other students, she goes to arm herself in the locker room._

_All of the walls are lined with rocket lockers, and higher up, there are shields, swords and spears decorating them. Large blue flags with the Vale emblem adorn the end of the hallways. In no time, Blaze reaches her own locker and out of it, she takes leather gloves with spiked knuckle plates, a white pauldron that goes on the left shoulder, a military pouch containing multicolored Dust vials that she straps on her thigh, and her main weapon, Carnelian Longnow._

_She deploys its Machine-Gun form to check if it’s being properly fed, switches it to the Claymore form to make sure it’s working as intended, and then retracts and holsters it on the back of her belt, from where hangs a reddish-brown cape reaching down to her lower ankles. As she closes the locker door, she feels a fuzzy sensation on her thumb._

_Looking over, she sees a squirrel resting atop her hand._

“...The heck.” _She says, blinking a couple of times attempting to process the situation._

“MAPLE, YOU RASCAL!”

_A voice called from below, seemingly addressing the little creature that had climbed onto Blaze. She looks down to see a small girl with vivid, swooshing red hair and green eyes, arms crossed, pouting at the squirrel._

“Unhand the huge lady this instant!”

_The squirrel squeaks at her._

“This is CLEARLY not our locker, seeing as SHE opened it and not US.”

_The squirrel looks at Blaze and tilts his head. Then it jumps down to the hand of the short girl._

“Sorry ‘bout that, Miss. We were just looking for our locker.” _She says to Blaze with an apologetic look._

“Check your Scroll.” _Blaze replies, deadpan._

_The girl obeys, finding the function that allows her to check and call her Locker. Her face lights up in realization._

“Orright! Thank you, Miss! Let’s roll, Maple.”

_The squirrel chirps and they stroll past Blaze towards their Locker, further down the hall. As Blaze leaves the Armory, the students get an announcement from Glynda via loudspeaker._

_“Would all first-year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation? Again, all first-year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately.”_

_Blaze sighs in preparation._

* * *

 

_All the first-years are now in Beacon Cliff, standing before Ozpin and Glynda, on top of metal plates. Blaze observes her surroundings and can see Blake, Jaune, Weiss, Chloe and Ashley, along with other students she does not know yet. Ozpin starts the initiation speech._

“For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest.”

 _Glynda intervenes._ “Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of "teams." Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates... today.”

“These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon.” _Ozpin continues._ “So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well.”

“Huh, i guess he is not as oblivious as i imag—” _Blaze starts thinking to herself._

“That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years.”

“I take it all the way back.”

“After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you WILL die.

You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will reguard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?”

_Blaze has nothing to say, but she can hear Jaune in the distance. However, due to his quietness, she is not able to make out what he says._

_Ozpin concludes._ “Good! Now, take your positions.”

_She unholsters Longnow, unfolding it into LMG form and quickly loading its belt. The panels the students are standing on launch them into the air as very powerful springboards, and to her left, one by one, they are launched. Blaze flexes her legs to give herself maximum propulsion and next thing she knows, she’s gracefully soaring through the air._

_As much as she would love it, this moment of freedom does not last forever; she is still at the mercy of gravity. Hence, she positions herself feet-first, readies Longnow and unloads her magazine into the trees that come her way, until she finally hits the ground of the forest with a roll._

_Adjusting her gear, the lynx girl reloads her weapon and starts running towards north while thinking to herself about her predicament._

“Yes, of course, Ozpin’s so-called strategy does NOT cover what would happen if we reach the temple without finding anyone. So my best bet is to go towards any sound i hear and HOPE that’s a student. Even better if it’s someone i know already.”

_She reaches a clearing in the forest and decides to slow down for a second, knowing that running is too energy-costly. She looks up at the sky and notices other students still in flight._

“Maybe I could go for Chloe? We seem to have a very good bond already, and she seems the kind that knows how to protect herself.”

_She pushes herself through some bushes, shooting down some Beowolves coming her way._

“Jaune? He’s a genuinely good person. A little overconfident, but who isn’t at times? I don’t know anything about his skills, however...”

_She climbs a tall tree, scouting for any sign of movement._

“...Should i try looking for... Blake...?” _She asks herself hesitantly while pulling Chloe’s coin from her pouch. Blaze reminds herself about the times Blake let herself be pushed around by her toxic relationship; It was the very reason she cut her ties._

_Blaze gazes at the coin. It bore the symbol of the Vytal Festival -- A fusion of the symbols of all four Kingdoms -- and the number “80” above it._

“On one side, Blake knew very well what path she was heading into, and what consequences it would have for her kind. It was not the equality me and my friend were promised.”

_Blaze flips the coin in her hand, looking at its heads. It bears just the Vale Emblem._

“On the other side... the very fact Blake is here and not anywhere else means there is a chance she could have changed for the better and outgrown her own... terrible ways.”

_Blaze furrows her brows and squints in doubt._

“The last time I saw Blake, she was still being coerced into killing me and my best friend. I escaped... Mag didn’t, as far as i am aware. Trusting Blake is a... coin flip.”

_While she was lost in thought, Blaze’s ears capture the sound of a slight wheezing. She hears Grimm grunts, a girl’s voice both yelping in fear and yelling in anger, and sees some arrows flying by. One of them almost hits her head, but she manages to catch it before it does._

“Or maybe i’ll just randomly stumble into someone new, like i’ve been doing all the time i spent here because that’s how my luck operates.”

_Blaze swings down from the branch and runs towards the direction of the arrow, shifting Longnow into its Claymore in her hand._

* * *

 

_Soon, she comes upon another clearing with some moss-covered stone ruins. In its center, a girl – a Faunus, given her brown rabbit ears – is having trouble keeping two Ursai at bay with her bow. There are many arrows stuck in the ground, meaning she already fent off more than these, but she is becoming overwhelmed quickly._

_Blaze presses a trigger in Longnow’s handle, making its large blade shimmer with a bright cyan glow, and whistles to get the exhausted girl’s attention. Jumping and spinning on her side, Blaze powerfully swings her sword, disintegrating the Ursai with a powerful energy shockwave. The other girl rolls under it to dodge, coming out unscathed._

_Now clear from trouble, the lynx faunus approaches the rabbit girl with her arrow in hand. She is sitting on the ground, tired, breathing deeply, but not hurt. Her ears, low, turned backwards and slightly sideways, and her paralyzed gaze make clear that she is nervous not only because of the Grimm, but also because of Blaze._

_Not wanting to scare this person even more, Blaze offers her her arrow back and then her hand to help her get up. The rabbit complies, still a bit shaky, but acceptive of the help. Blaze uses this chance to take a good look at her._

_She is dressed in a purple tailcoat, white button-up shirt with a tied blue bow around her neck and purple shorts with a golden spiked clock emblem by her right thigh, which also houses her arrow quiver. Her right hand sports a blue archer’s glove. She has brown bed hair with purple tips, done in two side braids by her shoulder. Her eyes are a glimmery amalgamation of red and hazel, accentuated by her pale skin and reddish nose._

_With this last observation, their eyes meet, effectively making them partners. There is silence for a while._

_Realizing no time can be lost, Blaze decides to break it._

“Who are you?”


	3. The Aquamarine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, Angela here and thank you very much for reading!  
> If you're enjoying the fanfic, please consider visiting @AngelOfSomeday on Twitter where I have uploaded a reference for Blaze, and soon i may do it for the other characters as well!

_The girl and her squirrel companion swung their way through Emerald Forest using her chain-whip and her own physical prowess. No emotion but pure bliss through her heart, and a single word out of her mouth:_

“YODELAYHEEHOOOOOOOO!”

_The squirrel held on to her head while they soared. After some time of her maverick momentum, the girl finally decided to take a break on a tall tree branch._

“That was unbelievable!” _The girl said to the squirrel, who now climbed out of her luscious hair. He squeaked positively in response. As he did, she retracted the whip onto her shotgun’s handle._ “Okay, Maple... it’s time to go north. Ta ta~” _They start frolicking, nowhere near in a rush. She looks to the sky above and sees a couple more students still in flight._

_One literally, as she passes by with her wings spread._

“That one is a bird faunus. Nice.”

_A few moments after the faunus flies by, she hears a thumping sound and howls of Grimm, thankfully in the direction she was already going._

“And THAT... is not nice. Let’s hustle, Maple!”

 _The squirrel chirps in agreement and they start to run towards the sounds._  

* * *

 “Hawa.... the landings are always the worst parts.” _The faunus comments, picking themself up, cleaning off the dirt and picking up their mace on their right hand. The noise appears to have attracted a pack of Beowolves._

“Eh?! I was not ready for this… guess I have no choice.”

_Pressing a button on the mace, its top starts spinning furiously. The Beowolves lunge. They duck under one and hit another with an upward strike to the chin. From the left, another tries to pin them down on its hind legs. They hold it with all their might, dodging a clawed left strike and hitting it at the ribs, causing it to whimper and slightly give out. Still holding its right claw, the girl hits it at its shoulder blade, breaking the Beowolf’s arm completely and using this opportunity to shatter its skull._

_No time to rest. The girl uses their wings to jump over the next Beowolf’s attack and onto its back, using the mace’s spinning top to impale it and end its miserable existence. This, however, caused them to miss the last Beowolf on their rear, who knocked away their mace again and has them pinned down, their faces centimeters apart._

_Suddenly it stops. It tries to turn its head, but is yanked away with great force._

_At the end of the chain, the faunus girl meets her salvation in the form of a tiny redheaded girl who has now tornado-kicked the Grimm into its demise._

“RAA, TOUCHDOWN!” _She says as she hits the head of the Grimm flying towards her with brutal grace, at the same time retracting her chain-whip into her shotgun._

_After that, she walks up to the Faunus girl with their sun-shaped shield in hand._

“Think this belongs to you. Nice wings.”

“O-oh. Yes, thank you.” _The faunus girl gets up and dusts themselves off, taking the shield._

“Name’s Alice. Alice Periwinkle. And I guess we are partners now, isn’t it?”

“Yes! I’m Tulip Pearl. And, oh… where… did you come from?”

“I was behind you.”

“...you were?”

* * *

 “...I’m-m Aurore. Celeste. Nice to meet you.”  _The rabbit faunus replies, sitting shyly on a nearby stone. She avoids eye contact._

“My pleasure, but we must hurry. I’m glad you’re not hurt or anything. So, shall we?” _Blaze replies, gesturing to a direction. Aurore gets up and they head off._

 _They reach a canyon with an ancient stone bridge over it and start walking over it._ “So…” _Aurore starts._ “Thanks for the save back there. I could have died without you.”

“You were scared. It’s usually fine, but… not that fine on these parts.” _Blaze replies._

“So that’s why there were so many.. s-sorry.”

“It was nothing. Just take more care next time.”

_They reach the middle of the bridge. Aurore jumps atop a pillar to scout the area ahead while Blaze looks down on the canyon below. The height is phenomenal and there appear to be more broken stone ruins below, already growing moss on them._

“Bow and arrow… you appreciate the classics. That’s pretty awesome.” _Blaze states, picking Aurore’s attention._

“Oh! H-hehe, I’m still not as skilled as I want to be but I really love it!”

_Aurore jumps down from the pillar, they start walking again._

“Interesting. Why?”

“My… my sister. She made me a toy bow when I was a little kid, so I’ve grown fond of it over time. I’d say it was natural?”

_They reach the end of the bridge and a clearing comes into view._

“Does it do anything else?”

“Yeah, let me just…” _Aurore splits the bow in half, its string retracts into a limb and two handles fold out of the limbs, turning it into two bladed tonfas._ “Yeah, there it is. Lavender Daze.” _She reattaches it and the string shoots back out to the opposite limb._ “I like the extra distance better, though.”

“I think I see it.”

“What?!”

_Blaze walks over to the clearing where they see a stone circle, decorated with chiseled arrows and broken pillars. Twenty small pillars remain, and on top of them there are what seem to be chess pieces._

“Huh.” _Aurore says in her confusion._

“Are we supposed to take one?” _Blaze says, examining the white bishop._ “...Alright, so be it. Aurore, do you mind holding on to it?”

“Sure, why…”

_She extends her hand and midway through her sentence, she feels a fuzzy feeling against her leg._

“...Not?”

_Aurore looks down to examine._

_It’s a squirrel._

“Chi~” _It says._

“You are kidding me.” _Blaze responds._

“Waaaa~” _Aurore quickly pockets the chess piece and reaches down to pick up the squirrel, holding it on her cupped hand and rubbing its head with her finger._ “Look at this little cottonball baby, aww~”

“Aurore, there is no time.”

_The squirrel seems appreciative of the newfound affection._

“Squirrel.” _Blaze calls, her hands on her hips. The squirrel turns to her._

“Where is the girl?”

_The squirrel hops down from Aurore’s hand and climbs into a nearby pillar. He looks at the trees, then at Blaze, then back at the trees._

“What girl?” _Aurore asks._

_“YAHOOO”_

_They both hear an excited yelling coming from the trees along with the sound of rustling. Suddenly the aforementioned girl comes into view, with another, winged girl in tow._

_Blaze sighs._ “That girl.”

_Alice retracts her chain again and hits the ground with a roll effortlessly. Tulip follows suit, but not with as much grace._

“Oh, it’s the huge lady! Hello!~”

 _Blaze gives a half-hearted wave in return._ “Hello. My name is Blaze, by the way.”

“Most assuredly, Miss Blaze…”

“Wait, what?”

“...My name is Alice Periwinkle, and these are my partners, Maple and Mx. Tulip Pearl!” _Alice replies while gesturing to the squirrel and to her clumsy winged friend._

“Hah… huff… N-nice to meet everyone!” _Tulip stumbles on words while trying to dust themselves off._

“Likewise~ I-I’m Aurore Celeste.” _Aurore shyly intervenes,_ “These pieces are what we came for… apparently.”

“Pick yours and let’s get a move on.”

 _Alice and Tulip go for the other white bishop piece._ “This should do it!” _Alice says. Maple squeaks in agreement._

“So, how are we going to find a way ba-” _Tulip replies before being cut off by a soul-piercing shriek._

“...Can’t you fly?” _Blaze questions._

“True, I can!”

“Don’t.” _Alice intervenes._ “I saw a Nevermore chasing you before we met. It’s probably around somewhere…”

_Alice steps back to take a picture of the forest temple with her Scroll while Maple hides back in her hair. The shriek starts getting closer and they hear various Ursai and gunshots in the direction Alice came from._

“What are you-- Oh my cotton socks, let’s go!” _Blaze orders and all of them start running towards the general direction of the cliffs. Eventually they reach the bridge Aurore and Blaze were before and run along it._

“Wait, I hear something!” _Blaze warns the girls._

“So do I… Everyone, get to cover!” _Aurore says. The girls obey, crouching behind the nearby pillars. Not long after, they hear the loud whooshing of the Nevermore passing over them, dropping some feathers._

“Oh dear…” _Aurore says._

“Yeah, you fly away...” _Blaze whispers._

“That is incredible...” _Alice comments._

“And terrifying…” _Tulip finishes as they all get up out of cover. They start making way to the end of the bridge, however they are stopped by the sight of a horde of Beowolves and an Ursa behind them._

 _Blaze cracks her knuckles and takes out her greatsword._ “Tally-ho, people.” _The others unsheathe their weapons as well, ready to take on the horde._

_Aurore climbs up on the pillar and shoots an Ice Dust arrow at the back of the wave, creating large ice clusters that impale some of the Grimm and stops the others in their tracks. Then she starts picking the ones she can see._

_At ground level, Blaze, Alice and Tulip are holding a frontline. Blaze is slashing through the Beowolves with spinning strikes,_ _  
_ _occasionally launching fire waves to melt them down;_

_Tulip throws her shield through them, mauling them with its sharp edges, and using her mace to launch the ones that get too close for comfort off of the bridge;_

_Alice impales and drags most of them with her chain whip, conscious that shooting a weapon as loud as her shotgun will attract more._

“We can’t stay here all day!” _Aurore states, jumping down from her pillar. The Ursa and remaining Beowolves break free of the ice crystals._

“Hawa… hang on, I’ve got this! Get back!” _Tulip states, taking a step forward and putting their mace back in their thigh. They touch the center of their shield, that’s encrusted with multiple colored crystals. Their long, light blonde hair, before tied in a rose-shaped bun on the side of their head, comes free and starts glowing a dazzling pale yellow color._

 _The others stare in awe._ “What… is that?” _Blaze asks._

“GO BACK TO THE LIGHT!” _Tulip levitates and shoots their hand forward; a large, continuous, multicolored beam comes out of it, quickly dissolving all of the remaining creatures coming their way._

_Once the path is clear, their glow fades and they lands back on the ground, proud of themselves. Their teammates come forward, impressed._

“Holy moly… THAT’S your semblance?” _Aurore asks._

“Yes, yes it is!” _Tulip says confidently, puffing their chest._

“Impressive… well, the path is clear.” _Blaze says, starting to run the remaining length of the bridge. The others follow suit, all content that they have survived the initiation and made it into Beacon Academy._

* * *

  _The newly formed comrades walk the stairs up to the stage Ozpin is standing on to greet the students. The whole student body claps in congratulations, and the cheering slowly fades as Ozpin starts to speak. The team’s faces and their initials start rearranging on the screen above, composed of Blaze, Alice, Aurore and Tulip, in that order._

“Blaze Mahogany, Alice Periwinkle, Aurore Celeste, and Tulip Pearl. The four of you retrieved the white bishop pieces. From this day forward, you’ll be working together as... Team MACT _[Malachite]_. Led by… Blaze Mahogany.”

_Another ovation starts. Blaze looks around the auditorium, then back at her team, who are all smiling. Aurore has the brightest smile of them all and is also clapping along with the audience at the appointment of their leader._

“ _They’re impressed._ ” _Blaze thought to herself. “That’s natural.”_

 _They begin to walk off the stage. Blaze turns to them with a determined smile._ “Let’s give it our best, Team.”

“Oh, yeah!” _Alice replies, with an approving bark from Maple._

_MACT joins the other students sitting in the auditorium as they announce the other teams. Soon, the last team is announced._

_Team RWBY._

_Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long._

_Blaze, sitting with her arms and legs crossed, stares daggers at the mention of the ‘B’ component of RWBY. She cannot deviate her stare from the face of the golden-eyed girl with the black bow being shown on the screen. Unconsciously, her foot starts shaking back and forth rapidly._

_This fidgeting catches the eye of Aurore, who is sitting next to her and gives her a worrying look._

“Blaze? Are… are you okay?” _The rabbit girl asks._

“Oh.” _The lynx answers, not taking her eyes off the screen._

“The best I’ve **EVER** been.”


	4. The Pearl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick chapter. Something like Episode 9, but set the night before. First attempt on writing the rest of the main cast, so it's now safe to add everyone to the tags. Hope I'm doing them justice.

_The sound of footsteps on the wooden floor flood the inner halls of Beacon Academy’s dormitory building. Hundreds of newly-admitted teams try to find their way to the rooms they will be staying in for the rest of their time in the Academy._

“It’s down this hall.” _Aurore states as she guides the rest of her team to their dorm, using her scroll as a directory. They reach the last door to the right and Aurore unlocks it with her scroll._

_All of MACT step in and take their time to appreciate the new ambient. The room is tidy and modern, with a single window decorated with red curtains that give view of the pinkish dusk sky. Four beds, each neatly made with also red duvet covers, were aligned against the wall and between them, under the window, was a long end table that doubles as shelves. Beside the door, there are two wooden desks with lamps and three more shelves above them, giving the team plenty of storage space._

_The room emits a slight aroma of lavender, likely from being recently cleaned in order to receive the new alumni._

“Dibs!” _Said Aurore as she sprung towards the leftmost bed and dove into it with mesmerizing grace. The mattress is very soft and felt like it absorbed part of her small being into it. Within minutes she had already given in to sleep._

_Tulip and Alice are taking their time to look through the room. Blaze hears voices outside and lets her teammates know she’s checking out their neighbors._

“Are you SURE you don’t need help with your luggage?” _A tall girl with a crown around her head questions._

“Yes, yes, I’m okay! Just _-grunts-_ packed a bit more than I probably should.” _A boy responds, dragging his bag across the corridor. Paying more attention, Blaze can see it’s Jaune._

“Maybe you should let Nora handle it.” _Another boy, clad in green with a pink streak on his hair suggests, motioning towards another, shorter girl._

“Naaaaah, he’s doing fiiiine~” _The second girl, presumably ‘Nora’, responds in a cheery, almost mocking tone._

_At this point Jaune is already panting, his bag barely moved from where it originally was. Blaze walks up to it and picks it up effortlessly._

“He’s not.” _Blaze intervenes._ “Hello, Jaune.”

“Hey Blaze... How’re you doing?” _Jaune responds, panting, hands on his knees. He picks himself up and stretches his arms._ “Oh, these are my teammates.”

“Hello~” _The redheaded girl greets with a singsong tune and a wave._ “My name is Pyrrha Nikos.”

“I’m Lie Ren, nice to meet you.” _The boy in green continues in a polite tone, hands behind his back._

“I’m Nora Valkyrie!” _The last member of JNPR concludes the presentations while giving an energetic salute._ “Oooooh… nice arms you got there, girl! You work out?” _She examines Blaze inquisitively._

“A lot.”

“Let’s do it together someday!”

“Sure thing.” _Blaze puts the bag on one of the beds, while the rest of JNPR steps into the dorm._ “Call me Blaze Mahogany, by the way.”

“Alright, thanks for the help.” _Jaune thanks Blaze._  “Maybe we can help the rest of the gang with their stuff when they arrive.”

“Uhhh, YOU didn’t help at all.” _Nora cuts in._ “I think Yang can handle the heavy lifting over there.”

“Yang can handle what now?” _A voice calls out from the corridor JNPR was just in._

_Walking past JNPR, Blaze observes the fiery young woman, part of team RWBY, who sports a physique similar to her own and long, vivid golden hair._

“Good evening, Yang.” _Pyrrha is the first to greet Yang._

“What’s up, you guys?”

“Nothing much. My friend here was just helping me carry some bags.” _Jaune responds._

“Oh! Hey beaut, name’s Yang.” _Yang greets Blaze with a fist on her hip and a finger gun._

“As I have just told them, my name is Blaze. The pleasure is mine.” _Blaze answers with a more casual wave._

“I’d bring out my sister Ruby to meet you, but she’s already hit the hay. So, I guess that will have to wait until tomorrow. Weiss is busy unpacking her BAJILLION Dust cases, but I guess Blake would be good if she’s not reading. I’ll go call her!” _Yang opens the dorm door opposite of JNPR’s and calls out in a singsong tune._ “Bla-a-ake~”

“What is it, Yang?” _The girl with a bow calmly sighs from her bed, lifting her eyes from the book she’s currently reading._

“New kid wants to meet you, can you scurry over real quick?”

“Hey!” _Weiss intervenes from the floor where she is unpacking her luggage._ “I’m going as well.”

“Sure, why not. Just come on!” _Yang goes back to JNPR’s doorstep as Blake and Weiss step out from behind her._ “Blaze, these are my teammates!”

“I…” _Weiss stops for a moment to observe Blaze’s lynx ears for a second, right before resuming eye contact._ “...am Weiss.” _She completes with a slight, polite bow._

“Call me Blaze.” _The lynx girl answers with a deep nod but a straight face._

_Blake hesitates. Something is off about Blaze, but she cannot quite place her finger on what it is. Believing it to be a trick of the mind, she brushes off the feeling and proceeds naturally._

“Blake. My pleasure.” _Blake steps up and introduces herself in a serene, yet conserved manner._

“I know.”

_Blaze’s stern response catches everyone off guard._

“You… know?” _Blake asks, confused._

“Have you two met before?” _Weiss inquires, trying to delve into Blaze’s statement._

“Well, _this_ is awkward.” _Nora comments from behind everyone._

“In a way. What a coincidence, is it not?”

“I… think so.” _Blake says, side-eyeing Blaze._

“Well, nice meeting all of you, but I’m tired and it’s getting dark, so I’ll go change and catch some Z’s.”

“Oh, alright. Guess we’ll go too?” _Jaune responds._

“I’ll introduce you all to my teammates… tomorrow, perhaps? Good night, JNPR, Yang, Weiss, Blake.” _Blaze says, walking off and waving to them._

“Good night.” _Ren responds._

“Sleep tight!” _Yang continues._

“Don’t let the Beowolves bite!” _Nora concludes, merrily._

_Blaze steps into her dorm, where Alice and Tulip have already changed and finished scouting the room, and are now sitting on their respective beds, talking. Aurore is still fast asleep in her battle gear._

“How do you like it?” _Blaze asks them, starting to change into her pajamas._

“It’s really good! Plenty of space for all our stuff. Good beds too.” _Tulip responds with bright eyes._

“Could use some decor though. I guess that’s what we’re gonna be doing tomorrow.” _Alice continues. Maple chirps in agreement._


	5. The Star Sunstone

_Sunlight creeps through the curtain gap._

_Grey eyelashes press against each other in an attempt to keep green eyes protected behind their thin skin shield._

_A futile action, as the huge feline girl realizes that she wouldn’t be able to keep herself laid for much longer. So, she sits up and stretches her back and arms, further awakening her body and mind._

_One look at her scroll indicates it’s 7:30 am. She made sure to check her schedule the night before, so her team wouldn’t have class for at least another hour and a half. Still, the previous days made Blaze realize that she is nowhere near familiarized with Beacon’s layout, and as such, has decided to use this fine morning to take a peaceful stroll around the school before heading to the classroom._

_However, one look to her right reveals a bunny girl still in deep state of sleep. A glance to her left reveals two empty beds, one rather messy and another completely tidied up. Its occupants are nowhere to be seen._

“Oh. So this is what we’re doing today.” _Blaze mutters to herself, running her hand through her hair with an incredulous look on her face._

* * *

 

_After a much-needed bath and changing into the Beacon Academy uniform, Blaze puts a relaxing song on her trusty earphones and goes on to patrol the calm courtyards of Beacon, making mental notes of where everything is and keeping an eye out for her “missing” teammates._

_It’s a hot, sunny day, enough to keep Blaze’s jacket tied around her waist and her dress shirt unbuttoned to maximize the air flow. The scenery of the courtyard is as green as ever, with many colorful flowers adorning the surface of the great pond she finds herself near after memorizing most of the Academy’s important spots. Not many people are up this early; Those who are, are killing time by chatting with their fellow students, studying outdoors, playing games on their Scrolls or simply admiring the scenery, waiting for the first day of school to start._

_Blaze chooses to do the latter, taking a seat near the pond, under one of the red-leaved trees that line Beacon’s main avenue. Changing the song from the playlist, she basks in the pleasant shade and comfortable texture of the grass under her legs._

“The lights are gone and the party’s over…” _The faunus girl sings to herself while watching students go by._

_One catches her attention, making her ears perk up. She waves at the faraway girl, motioning for her to come over, causing her to look around with a confused expression, before looking directly at Blaze and pointing at her own face. Blaze nods in confirmation. The girl squints her eyes and side pouts in wonder, but walks towards Blaze nonetheless. She has short, black hair, a chubby physique, and a prosthetic right hand. Her black thigh-high socks visibly squish a portion of her leg fat._

_Blaze removes her earbud as the girl approaches within hearing distance and gives a casual smile._

“What?” _The girl asks._

“Hey! Are you Ashley?” _Blaze asks, having remembered Chloe pointing Ashley out as she slept._

“Who’re you?” _Ashley retorts, face still straight. Blaze feels slightly regretful of her decision to greet her._

“Blaze Mahogany, from Team MACT. Your friend Chloe Llyn told me about you.”

 _Ashley looks over to the side, scratching her cheek._ “Ah, yes. Chloe. Yeah, I’m Ashley Ruadhe, from Team SLCA _[Silica]_ . Good morning.” _She replies, in a neutral, but not exactly evasive tone._

“Are you busy right now?”

“Why?”

“You... could sit with me, if you want to.” _Blaze motions towards the empty space beside her._ “There’s 45 minutes until class starts.”

“Not really in a chatty mood, Blaze. Sorry.”

_Ashley unconsciously brings her right hand to her thigh and averts her eyes, clearly thinking of a way to escape the conversation._

“Don’t need to talk. Do you have earbuds on you? We could share playlists.”

“Yeah… why not, I guess.” _Ashley gives in, not having much better to do. She plops down to Blaze’s right and opens the same application Blaze is using on her scroll. They quickly find each other’s libraries and start listening to the songs that seem to interest them the most._

_Ashley’s style is majorly comprised of alternative and punk rock songs. While intense, they don’t feel incredibly overwhelming to Blaze’s ears. Surprisingly, these are intertwined with slow, emotional tracks; like they came out of a video game’s ending._

_Blaze’s playlist contains calmer songs, some acoustic, some more synthesized, meant to take your mind off of everything. Ashley notices that they don’t follow a specific pattern, and deduces that they were picked on whim, or based on the emotions they transmit._

_Giving a side glare at Blaze, she would never imagine someone of her cool, imposing aspect to be as sensitive as she is making her out to be._

_Certainly, Blaze thinks the same about Ashley’s epic, brass-filled tracks, filled with emotion, some going as far to be saddening. A stark, almost funny contrast to her frowning, evasive demeanor._

_Perhaps this situation being Ashley’s idea of a “heart connection”, she reaches over and pokes Blaze’s hand, and they pause their songs._

“Hm?” _Blaze turns her eyes to address her._

“You can... call me Ash.” _She says, same expression, but a visible bit of a blush on her cheeks. She’s a bit behind on her sincerity quota, but is proud of herself for being able to get closer with someone._

“Okay.” _Blaze answers with a slight smile on her face._

“15 minutes to class.” _Ashley reminds, slinging her bag around her body._ “Who have you got?”

 _Blaze checks her schedule as they get up and store their earbuds._ “Grimm Studies with Professor Port. How about you?”

“Port as well.”

“Want to go together?”

“Sure.” _Ashley shrugs._

_The two of them walk side-by-side to the classroom. They seem like strangers to the outside observer, but both feel lighter and happier from their little ‘moment’, taking off the toll of the first day at the Academy. A lightness which they hope they maintain until the end of their years there._

_They say nothing, and have no need to._

* * *

 

_Three minutes until class starts, Blaze and Ashley watch as three figures arrive hastily through the door of the lecture hall; one very chipper, one very nervous, and one very drowsy._

“Well, Ash… meet my teammates.” _Blaze says, a hint of defeat on her voice as they come near her desk._

“Hey.” _Ashley greets without moving from the corner._

“This is Alice,” _Blaze starts the introductions._

“Hello, Miss.”

“This one is Tulip,”

“N-nice to meet you.”

“And that one -- Hey, wake up.” _Blaze taps the last girl’s cheek a couple times, trying to get her to cross the border between dream and reality._

 _She yawns._ “Oh, hey. Hi there…” _is all she can mutter before closing her eyes again. They all take the cue to slide along the desk and get their seats near Blaze._

“Sigh… That’s Aurore. I was looking for them when I called you over.”

_As if on cue, Maple hops out of Alice’s mane to take a look around the room. Having seen all of it, he retreats into it again._

“Did that just happen?” _Ashley asks, unsure of what she just saw._

“Yes. Yes, it did. That one was Maple.”

“Right…”

_Soon after, a slender, spectacled figure comes into the hall and quickly spots Blaze and Ashley. Excited, she skips up the stairs to their desk. Blaze opens a soft smile._

“Good morning, everyone!”

“Hi, Chloe.” _Ashley greets back._

“Morning!” _Blaze answers right after._

“Soleil and Luna are coming in a while. Ash, shall we?”

“Alright.” _Ashley waves to MACT and they sit on the desk opposite of Blaze’s._

“Who was that?” _Alice asks, head on her hand._

“Ashley. And they are her team, SLCA. There’s Chloe, and apparently those two there are Soleil and Luna.” _Blaze indicates the twin sisters coming up the stairs and taking the seats next to Ashley and Chloe. Both have ashen hair, one tied in high ponytails and the other cut very short. The one with short hair has a scar running across her nose._

_Soon, Professor Port, an elderly, stout man with a bushy mustache, walks in, announcing the start of class. He stands in front of his desk, papers with illustrations and information about various Grimm species plastered on the wall behind him._

“Monsters! Deeeemons... Prowlers of the night! Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names, but I merely refer to them as prey! Haha!”

_Silence. Aurore wakes up from her nap, Tulip furrows their brows in doubt, and Alice trades embarrassed looks with Blaze._

"Uhhhh…” _Port tries to follow up his joke._ “And you shall too, upon graduating from this prestigious academy! Now, as I was saying: Vale, as well as the other three kingdoms, are safe havens in an otherwise treacherous world! Our planet is absolutely teeming with creatures that would love nothing more than to tear you to pieces! And that's where we come in. Huntsmen! Huntresses…”

_Port stops to wink at Yang, who is sitting in the front row, making Blaze’s ears drop in bemusement. Alice pulls out a sketchbook and a pencil from her bag, trying to write down the Grimm drawings from the sheets on the wall._

“Individuals who have sworn to protect those who cannot protect themselves! From what, you ask? Why, the very world!”

“AYY-YEP!” _A student stands and raises his fist in response, getting weird looks from all of his classmates. He sits back down, regretting his decision._

“That is what you are training to become. But first: A story. A tale of a young, handsome man... Me!”

“Alright, this is where I stop paying attention.” _Blaze mutters to herself as she pulls out her Scroll and scrolls down her contact list. There’s her team, Jaune, Chloe, and the just-added Ashley._

_She opens Ashley’s chat and starts texting._

Blaze: [We’re going to buy dorm decorations after this. Do you want to come?]

Ashley: [I’ll check.]

_Ashley closes Blaze’s chat and opens the team’s group chat. In a couple seconds, she has her answer already._

Ashley: [They’re staying here. Guess I will too.]

Blaze: [Right.]

Blaze: [You want me to bring anything?]

Ashley: [Don’t think so.]

_Blaze pockets her Scroll once more, trying to pay attention to Port’s story. He clears his throat to catch the class’ attention._

“In the end, the Beowolf was no match for my sheer tenacity, and I returned to my village with the beast in captivity and my head held high, celebrated as a hero!”

_Port takes a bow before continuing._

“The moral of this story? A true Huntsman must be honorable! A true Huntsman must be dependable! A true Huntsman must be strategic, well-educated, and wise! So, who among you believes themselves to be the _embodiment of these traits_?”

_In the front row, Weiss’ hand shoots up almost immediately._

“I do, sir!” _She replies, her voice full of emotion._

“Well, then, let's find out!”

_Port turns his head and motions towards an iron cage, wherein appears to reside a creature that is now ferociously growling and shaking its container._

“Step forward, and face your opponent!”

_Alice stops her drawing, Blaze and Tulip sit straighter in attention, Aurore is awake but startled by whatever the cage holds._

_Weiss leaves the room and comes back in minutes, fully changed into her usual white dress and with her rapier at the ready. The rest of RWBY cheer._

“Goooo, WEISS!” _Yang starts._

“Fight well!” _Blake wishes, waving a little red flag with ‘RWBY’ written on it._

“Yeah, represent teeeeam RWBY!” _Their leader Ruby proclaims excitedly._

“RUBY! I’m trying to focus!” _Weiss retorts angrily. MACT can practically feel Ruby shrinking into herself after this remark._

“Bitch.” _Blaze states._

“Not you too, Blaze.” _Tulip calls her out._

“Alright, let the match BEGIN!” _Port announces, taking his blunderbuss-axe hybrid and destroying the lock on the cage with it, freeing the Boarbatusk inside, who immediately makes a run for Weiss._

_She slashes it on its side and makes a dodge-roll, letting it blow past her. Her strike did the creature no harm._

_Port narrates the fight as it unravels._ “Ha-ha! Wasn't expecting that, were you?”

“Hang in there, Weiss!” _Ruby tries to cheer for her teammate once more._

_Using her glyphs, Weiss charges directly at the Boarbatusk and impales it directly at his face-plates. An unwise move, as her rapier gets stuck between its tusks, and she now wrestles with the Grimm attempting to get it back._

“Bold, new approach. I like it!”

“Come on, Weiss, show it who’s boss!”

_Weiss glares at Ruby for a split-second, but it’s just enough for the beast to overpower her grip on her sword and launch it far behind itself._

“Oh-ho! Now what will you do without your weapon?”

_Weiss stumbles forward, and the beast headbutts her, sending her flying back. As she tries to recover, she gets a glimpse of the creature charging again and dodges to her left, avoiding further damage and causing it to crash on a desk and fall on its side._

_She takes this chance to make a run for Myrtenaster, sliding on the ground as she wields it again._

_Ruby tries to be helpful once more._ “Weiss! Go for its belly! There's no armor underneath-”

“STOP telling me what to DO!” _But fails as Weiss loses her patience and shouts back at her, causing the hooded girl to shrink back into herself again._

“Jeez…” _It’s Chloe’s turn to reprehend her from afar._

_The Boarbatusk jumps up and starts rolling on the ground, gaining tremendous speed as it goes towards Weiss, ready to run her over like a boulder. The swordswoman defends herself by summoning a blue glyph to block its attack, causing it to crash and fall on its back. She turns the glyph to black and places it behind her, using it as a platform to propel herself towards the Boarbatusk’s belly, stabbing it and ending its miserable existence with a squeal. Weiss stands up, exhausted and panting. Port congratulates his student on her performance._

“Bravo! Bra-vo! It appears we are indeed in the presence of a true Huntress in training!”

_MACT and SLCA take their bags and start walking down the stairs of the hall._

“I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today. Be sure to cover the assigned readings, and... stay vigilant! Class dismissed!”

_Aurore observes as Weiss leaves the class hurriedly, a bit shocked from her behavior towards Ruby._

“Why does she have to be so rude?” _The bunny girl comments._

“Perhaps she’s having a bad day.” _Tulip inputs, also unsure of Weiss’s reasons._

“Well, maybe we can find out another day. Class is over, it’s shopping time.” _Alice chimes in excitedly while leaving the class._

_As she follows the girls into their dorm, Blaze’s Scroll vibrates. New text message._

Ashley: [Actually, there’s one thing you could look out for.]

* * *

 

_Blaze takes her scroll out from her green parka once more to check Ashley’s request. Having confirmed it, she and her teammates open the wooden door to the store. Her teammates scatter around the store looking for items of interest. Blaze goes straight to the counter, seeing a service bell there. She rings it and leans over the wooden table._

_Upon doing so, the two doors in front of her open and a tall man with cleanly cut sideburns, presumably the shop owner, emerges from inside them._

“Hello, sorry for the wait.” _He apologizes._ “Welcome to Tukson’s Book Trade, home to every book under the sun. How may I help you?”

“Hey”, _the lynx girl greets._ “I’m searching for a book for a friend. Do you have a book called… _“The World Tree”_?”

 _Tukson brings his fingers to his chin, collecting his memory._ “Hmm… yes. Would you like it on hardback or paperback?”

“Hardback, I suppose.”

“One second.” _Tukson excuses himself and goes to the back to search for the book. Blaze turns around and puts her elbows on the table, leaning against it while her team skims some books they found interesting._

_Aurore took over the bookshop’s history section, going from the history of each continent to famous wars and even Valean fashion throughout the recorded times._

_Tulip has found interest on some cooking guides, specifically for confections and cakes, and set a couple aside to take home. Blaze can see her book pile has also a compilation of fairy tales in it._

_Alice is showing Maple some books about animals, seeming to reminisce them in some way._

“Here you go.” _Tukson has returned with the book Blaze asked for. It’s relatively large, heavy, and has a green cover and gold decorations on its title and illustration: A tree whose roots pan over the bottom of the cover and the leaves at the top, taking over almost its entirety. The trunk thins out just enough to make space for the words “The World Tree”._

“Thank you very much.” _Blaze pays Tukson and turns to the girls._ “Are you guys gonna buy anything? I got what I came for.”

“I’m good.” _Alice says, putting the books back in their shelves._

“I will! Hang on!” _Aurore says, quickly picking books off her pile and taking them to Tukson for checkout._

“Me too!” _Tulip picks up the books they have taken from the shelves._ “Hawan…” _They take their pile to the counter, waiting for Aurore to finish._

_Tukson finishes checking out the girl’s books and happily waves them off as they leave, inviting them to come again._

“Where to now?” _Blaze asks them. Aurore has just the right idea._

“Plant shop!” _She points, and basically hops her way there. The team follows, each picking up things of preference. Aurore looks at lavender flowers, Alice picks up a Bonsai tree at Maple’s request._

_Blaze, not thinking about it much, picks up some blue flowers she thinks are pretty, and buys them along with a little note on how to care for them._

_This captures the bunny faunus’s attention._

“Are these forget-me-nots?”

“Uh…” _Blaze reads the note once again._ “Yes.”

“Oh, those are my favorites! Can I help you take care of them?” _Aurore is smiling like Blaze has never seen yet._

“Actually…” _Blaze hands her the flowers._ “I’m not very good with this kind of thing, so how about you keep them? Gift from me to you.”

“Really? Thank you very very much!” _Aurore bounces as she takes the flowers into her hands._

“You’re so sweet, you two.” _Alice says with a teasing face. Blaze gives no answer to this._

_The lynx really would rather have kept the flowers, but making someone this level of happy is enough to make up for it. Also, she knows they will be kept on the dorm where she can also see them._

_They walk around the block for a while, taking in the scenery of the docks, the holographic street lights, the diverse, lively people walking and driving. It’s getting close to sunset, so they search for a home renovation store where they gather various decorative items to place in their dorm, and then walk back to their dorm eager to decorate it._

_They all organize their books in the shelves above the beds. Aurore has placed the flowers in a water vase by the window, and Alice’s Bonsai tree by its side. Blaze’s bed has a bull skull hung above it, Aurore has a family picture framed on the wall beside hers, Alice hung up a few drawings and notes of animals and Creatures of Grimm, and Tulip arranged cushions of multiple formats on top of their pillows, such as cupcake, cactus and a smiling cloud with a cartoony face._

“Now THIS is looking good.” _Tulip states as they all stand near the door and admire their new decor._

“Man, I’m beat.” _Aurore says, voice betraying her exhaustion._ “But we did awesome.” _Maple gives a chirp from Alice’s hair, sharing his happiness._

“Let’s get some rest,” _Blaze suggests._ “Tomorrow’s class is sparring, with Glynda.”

_“This is gonna be good”, she thinks to herself in expectation of the new day._


	6. The Ruby

_ The arena’s seats are packed with students, all of them analyzing both of the combatants’ strategies and aura meters from above. Glynda’s sparring classes are the favorite times for most students, mostly for being a good moment for making sure they are keeping in shape -- or just for showing off. _

_ RWBY, MACT, SLCA and the other teams watch the classy match Ren is having against Velvet Scarlatina. They are both adept at hand-to-hand combat, but Ren’s bladed SMGs give him a range advantage when he needs to evade Velvet. One wrong move for the elven girl is all Ren needed to give her a decisive, final blow to the back of the head. _

_ A buzzer goes off as Glynda calls off the match. Velvet’s aura is in the red, but she is not seriously hurt, and soon she’s back on her feet, panting. Ren takes a slight bow towards his opponent in gratitude. The students give the winner cheers and a round of applause, with Nora being particularly enthusiastic. _

“DID YOU SEE THAT? DID YOU SEE THAT?!”  _ She says, practically jumping out of her seat with her frantic leg movements, tapping Pyrrha’s shoulder with her hand repeatedly. It hurts, but Pyrrha only reacts with a slightly embarrassed smile that says both “I’m happy he won” and “please stop hitting me”. _

“Yeah, Nora, we all saw it.”  _ Jaune says, trying to calm her down, even though he knows his attempts are futile anyway. Nora is still being bubbly, but at least she stopped hitting Pyrrha. _

“Bravo to both of you, Mr. Ren, Ms. Scarlatina.”  _ Glynda begins to address the participants.  _ “Ms. Scarlatina, as much as you have proven to hold yourself up in melee combat, I’d like to suggest that you forge a weapon for more dangerous situations. Your fists may not be enough the next time.”

“It’s just not ready…”  _ Velvet replies, looking at the ground. Glynda nods. _

“Mr. Ren,”  _ She says, turning to Ren.  _ “Outstanding technique as always. You two may return to your teams, and I’ll call upon the next combatants.”

“Chloe,”  _ Luna says to her teammate,  _ “You want to coin toss to predict the next fight?”

“I’m still honing my skills on that one, but why not?”  _ She says, as she pulls a coin out of her bag. _

“Wait, what sense does that make?”  _ Weiss tries to question her ‘clairvoyance’ tactics from the seat row above. _

“Alright, alright, alright. Let’s get down to business!”  _ Chloe examines the coin on both sides before flipping it with her finger and slapping it against her left wrist, then bringing it to eye level as if examining it.  _ “Ms. Mahogany, you’re up!”

_ Glynda looks in the direction of the rows MACT and SLCA are sitting.  _ “Ms. Mahogany, proceed to the arena, will you?”  _ Blaze gets up and starts walking towards the stairs to change. _

“But-- What the-- How did you--”  _ Weiss tries to make sense of what just happened, but fails miserably as she shifts her eyes between everyone. Ruby has just burst out laughing. Yang is trying to stifle her own laughter. _

“Aaaaand…”  _ Yang begins, barely containing it.  _ “Who’s the next one?”

_ Chloe eyes all of Team RWBY. Ruby is catching her breath, Yang is genuinely curious, Weiss is still rather confused and Blake has her mysterious, calm demeanor of always. _

“It’s one of you.”

“Now that’s just a long shot.”  _ Weiss replies, rolling her eyes. _

“Ms. Schnee,”  _ Glynda calls upon her, causing her to blurt a confused “WHAT?!”.  _ “You’ll be fighting Ms. Mahogany. Please assume your position.”

“There’s gotta be a trick behind this!”  _ Weiss tells Chloe incredulously before waltzing away towards the changing room behind the arena. _

“That was awesome!”  _ Jaune says, perplexed at her ‘talents’. _

“Chloe… How do you do that?”  _ Ruby inquires, equally amazed. _

_Chloe flashes a bright smile at team RBY._ “I’m just that good, little rose!” 

* * *

 

_ Down on the arena, Blaze already has changed into her combat gear, and soon Weiss emerges from behind the arena, also with all her equipment ready. Glynda explains the rules, the usual “nice, clean fight” speech, before Blaze raises her hand.  _ “Professor Goodwitch.”

“Yes, Ms. Mahogany?”

“I’d like to up my stakes.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”  _ Weiss intrudes, palms up in confusion once more. _

“It means…”

_ Blaze glares at the auditorium seats. Towards Jaune, Yang, Ruby… _

_ And Blake. _

“I want to fight  _ all  _ of Team RWBY.”

“You’re only making this harder on yourself.”  _ Glynda expresses her slight concern. _

“Fine by me.”

“Well then. Ms. Rose, Ms. Xiao Long, Ms. Belladonna? Would you like to oblige?”

“This could be fun!”  _ Yang says towards her teammates. Ruby smiles, not giving the idea much thought. Blake is suspicious and a bit concerned -- not sure if about Blaze, or about her teammates. _

_ Or perhaps about herself. _

_ Either way, they quickly change and are disposed throughout the arena. Glynda starts the match. _

“Begin.”

_ The lights go on. As soon as it does, Blaze crosses her arms while RWBY assume their battle positions. Weiss is on the right, preparing to strike. A faint ashen cloud starts emitting from Blaze’s skin. Everything starts slowing down to a near-halt. She needs to think. _

“No… not yet.”

_ She crosses her arms and starts thinking to herself, analyzing the members of Team RWBY, one by one. _

“Weiss uses a traditional fencing stance. She seems to make very straight-forward attacks from what I could gather in the Boarbatusk fight, but I think that can cause her to miss. Her circle-thingy semblance can be quite dangerous. Also… not good at teamwork.”

_ She moves on to Yang. _

“A boxing stance. She’s toned, and fierce. Interesting weapon, those bracelets. Don’t know what they do, but if she bases her style around them -- they’ll give me trouble. Dodging is probably going to be safer than blocking. Got to exploit every mistake.”

_ She stares at Ruby. _

“A scythe? Never seen one of these. It’s big, and… rather intimidating. However, it also appears clumsy and likely takes a lot of power to swing. If I’m careful I can use it against her. Ruby is small, though. May be hard to hit.”

_ Lastly, Blaze glares at Blake. _

“You… I know you. From the White Fang. You and that bastard gave me and Magnolia a lot of trouble. Every day I wonder if the two of you killed her. Did he send you here? Who did this thing...?

Well… we sparred together during that time. I know you. I know your style. I can win.”

_ Time resumes its course. Blaze stretches her thumbs and readies herself for the incoming fight. _

_ Weiss goes first. She does a backflip and propels herself towards Blaze with Myrtenaster extended at high speed. _

“Oh, and she’s a leftie.”  _ Blaze notes to herself. Effortlessly, she spins to her right and bashes the plated back of her glove against Weiss’s face, causing her to thud and roll heavily on the ground. _

_ Weiss being out of commission for now, she now power-walks towards Yang, paying attention to her fists. Blake is slowly approaching, looking for the time to strike. _

_ Blaze makes the first move, trying to land a blow to Yang’s head. She dodges and counters with a punch to Blaze’s abdomen, making her flinch backwards, and trying to follow it up with a flurry to her head. Blaze dodges one and blocks the rest with her hands, causing Yang to throw a right hook, hitting Blaze on the side of the head. Blaze stumbles to the side with this strike and Yang tries an uppercut. Blaze barely dodges it by bending backwards, and sees the fiery explosion coming out of Yang’s gauntlet, instantly glad she didn’t let the punch connect. _

“So that’s what they do.”

_ Blaze uses a handspring to get back to her feet. Blake uses her Shadow to rapidly approach and try a swing with her cleaver. Being promptly blocked, she separates her two swords and attempts to flank Blaze while striking with kicks and slashes. Blaze dodges as much as she can, but she can see Yang lunging for a wild haymaker. This leads her to pull out her claymore and, after using her semblance to intercept Blake with a kick, dodge out of the way so Yang hits Blake instead. This throws her backwards and the sheer force of the impact forces Blake to land on all fours. _

_ The lynx throws a spiked punch at Yang’s face as she tries to understand what just happened, following it up with kicks to her kneecaps and spinning sword strikes. Yang tries her best to block and counter, but a gap while protecting her face was just wide enough for Blaze to hit a furious uppercut on her chin. _

_ Annoyed, Yang tries to punch and trap Blaze again; her opponent follows up with kicks to Yang’s ribs and thighs while dodging and blocking her offensive with her vambraces and sword. _

“ **Stop** …”  _ Yang starts between hits, but is interrupted when Blaze blocks one with her sword and immediately throws a straight punch at her face. They hear gunfire and bullets wheezing past them from both directions. _

“ **MOVING!** ”  _ Yang yells as she loses her temper. Her eyes are red from anger, but she manages to hold back just enough to not use her semblance. She hits Blaze’s face with her elbow and goes for another wild haymaker with the opposite hand. _

_ This is the opportunity Blaze uses to dodge under her, kick the back of Yang’s knee, causing her to kneel on the ground, and kicking Yang’s face with all her might. Behind Yang she can see Weiss is recovering, and more bullets pass by her. Looking back, she can see they’re from Ruby’s Crescent Rose, just as she aims another shot. Looking at the opposite direction, she can see Weiss recovering and Blake transforming Gambol Shroud's pistol back into sword form. Blaze decides to go for Ruby first. _

“ **FRJÓSA!** ”

_ Blaze yells and engages Ice Dust in her blade to strike the ground before Ruby, avoid her gunfire. Ruby uses a shot to dodge and flings her scythe at Blaze, causing it to clash with her sword multiple times before coming back to her hand. Ruby then attempts to sweep from the side, but Blaze parries it and follows with a kick to Ruby’s head, causing her to crouch and using her position to propel herself above Blaze with her Rose Dash, using her airborne position to aim a shot at Blaze’s head with Crescent Rose; she narrowly dodges it and launches an Ice Dust wave towards Ruby. It hits her arm, but she manages to use her speed to recover and kick Blaze in the head with both feet. _

_ It takes a considerable portion of Blaze’s aura, almost into the yellow zone. She rolls backwards, but manages to regain her footing. _

_ Ruby twirls her scythe trying to catch her opponent, surprising Blaze with how agile she manages to be wielding it. Managing to narrowly dodge her strikes, Blaze holds the scythe in place so that Ruby cannot move it and goes for a straight punch, which leads to Ruby releasing Crescent Rose and being forced into melee range. _

“RUBY!”  _ Weiss calls out from behind her. Ruby looks behind her as Weiss launches a wave of ice crystals intending to trap Blaze. Her attack backfires as Blaze lands a claw attack on Ruby’s face, leaving her disoriented and causing her to get caught in the heiress’ glacier. _

_ The lynx faunus decides she’ll deal with Weiss later. She is now seeing red, targeting Blake, who has taken a defensive stance, away from her team. Blake’s face is calm, but hides concern and a bit of fear as she unsheathes Gambol Shroud. _

_ Blaze engages with a triple kick, which Blake blocks using her cleaver. She then counters with shots from her pistol, hitting Blaze in the shoulder, and then moving behind Blaze with her Shadow to unleash multiple sword strikes. Blaze parries some of them with her own sword; as Blake tries to use a spinning strike, Blaze blocks it with her vambrace and grabs her other sword arm. _

_ Now having Blake on her grasp, Blaze moves close to her face and asks, voice full of bitterness: _

“How is Adam, Belladonna?”

_ Blake gasps, a river of memories rushing back to her head. Taking advantage of this moment of weakness, Blaze jumps on her chest and kicks her cheek, taking this moment to see Weiss skating towards them again. _

_ Both Blake and Weiss strike Blaze at the same time with their swords, causing Blaze to have to parry both their lightning-fast strikes with her fists. It proves an increasingly difficult task as they get faster and more sporadic, so she looks for an opening. And finds one in a missed strike by Weiss, which she dodges under and kicks her kneecap, causing her to falter. Dodging Blake’s strike, Blaze grabs Weiss by the arm and throws her towards Blake, causing both to fall next to each other. Before they can get up, Blaze jumps in the air and stomps both of their chests, causing them to gasp for air and lose all strength. This was the last move. _

_ All their auras have reached the red level. A buzzing sound plays and the lights turn off; Glynda has called off the match. _

“Impressive combat skills, Ms. Mahogany.”  _ She states, checking her Scroll.  _ “Just please be wary that you might not be as lucky as to have favorable conditions in the wilderness. Being outnumbered  _ and _ overwhelmed is a dangerous and very possible scenario.”

“Okay.”  _ Blaze acknowledges. _

“You’re all dismissed.”

* * *

 

_ MACT is heading back to the dorm, all of them with questions in their minds, but still silent. This combat skill was expected for a Huntress, however, there was something off about it. _

“Blaze, what was the point of that?”  _ Tulip asks, both impressed and in disbelief of her teammate’s recklessness. _

“...Score to settle.”  _ Blaze says, still looking forward, face unreadable as ever. _

“With Blake.”  _ Alice guesses. Blaze’s eyebrows furrow slightly. She can see she was right.  _ “Where do you know her from?”

“I… don’t want to talk about this.”  _ Blaze tries avoiding the question. Her ears lower a bit. _

“Blaze.”  _ Aurore steps in front of the open dorm room as they arrive.  _ “We are a team now. If you’re supposed to lead us, then you need to trust us. If not… how are we supposed to trust you as well?”

_ Her straight expression turns into one of concern. Blaze’s back is against the wall, and she ponders over her answer. All of her friends are confounded, waiting her answer. She quickly decides that the best course of action is to be truthful. She sighs and whispers. _

“...White Fang.”

_ Blaze power-walks past Aurore, and the others follow, confounded, closing the door. She stumbles through her story; Both her and Blake are faunus. She joined White Fang along with her friend, Magnolia Alabaster, in order to make justice for her kind. They met Blake on their time of service and, when the White Fang started to become more violent and militaristic in nature, they wanted to leave. Allegedly, Blake and Adam didn’t let them. Somehow, Blaze escaped. Magnolia didn’t follow. _

_ She doesn’t know what happened to this day. _

“So… do you understand now?”  _ Blaze asks, looking at the ceiling from her bed. The others paid close attention to the story. _

“The same happened to me...”  _ Aurore states.  _ “I lost touch with my elder sister, just before coming to Beacon. I’m still trying to find her, understand how and why...”

_ Blaze turns on her bed to face the other members. _

“I lost… my parents. Huge accident.”  _ Alice continues. Maple comes out of her hair and rubs his nose against her cheek. Now that everything is quiet, they hear a very quiet whirring sound. Alice gestures towards him.  _ “He is all I have left.”

“I… I haven’t been there, and I can’t even possibly comprehend this kind of pain, but… I want to do my best for all of you and help everyone find who they’re looking for.”  _ Tulip concludes, their face and voice full of sorrow. Their wings flap slightly. _

“O-oh. What we’re trying to say is… We understand more than on a superficial level. What you feel… we all know.”  _ Aurore stumbles through her words, so earnest that it brings a warmth to Blaze’s heart. _

“Thank you.”  _ Blaze says to her comrades. _

“Thank you too, for trusting in us.”  _ Aurore replies. _

“Maybe you should ask Blake what went down.”  _ Alice suggests, poofing her small frame on her bed and opening her scroll. _

_ Blaze does not reply to this, but considers it. Images of Blake flash in the back of her mind before she dozes off from exhaustion. Whatever she needed to do next had to be done with an open mind and the utmost care. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First time writing a fight. Oof. Serves me right to adapt to the Monty Oum mindset.


	7. The Obsidian, pt. 1

_ From shadows, they’ve descended upon the world. _

_ The Faunus. Otherwise known to humanity as servants, cattle, animals. The people blessed and burdened with characteristics from other creations of nature. And, for decades (Or was it centuries? Some of them didn’t know anymore.) that made them less than human. _

_ Seeking to be living proof that this belief wasn’t real, a ragtag resistance, called “White Fang”, started forming to take back the rights they were denied, and to become a stalwart ambassador between mankind and faunus. _

_ So it seemed on its face. The world of Remnant blinked its eyes and, suddenly, it was an army. _

_ Instilling fear in humanity’s heart and threatening its passive way of life, taught to themselves by the Creatures of Grimm. _

_ This, surprising no one, only served to deepen the ridge and undo all the progress made by those who determined the White Fang’s initial objective and efforts to uphold them. _

“What a crying shame...”  _ Blaze thought out loud as she walked out of her dorm room, again waking up much earlier than her teammates. At least this time she was sure everyone was in their respective beds. Apparently the previous day Tulip and Alice went into town to do some “urban exploration”. She can’t say it was totally useless, but a heads-up is always nice. Reminding herself that she wasn’t a hypocrite, she always texted her team when she woke up and left. _

_ She looks to the left to see a bright, yellow cascade going down the hallway, toned arms stretching livelily as it walks. She views it as being the opportunity she needed, and trots uneasily to catch up, trying to gather the courage to be ‘sociable’. Counting to five in between every breath, hands slightly shaking, she eventually lets herself speak. _

_ Deep breath. _

“Yang!”  _ She said, less than sure of what she was doing, but there was no going back now. It was enough for the blonde to look back at her. _

“Oh hey!”  _ Yang greets in recognition, walking closer. _ “You are, uh… Blaze? Is that right?”  _ She says, a friendly smile on her face. It makes Blaze feel a bit guilty about being so nervous and anger-ridden on the fight the day before.  _ “Good morning!”

_ She sighs and tangles her fingers together, smiling back, more shyly than she’d like.  _ “Good morning. What wakes you up so early today?” _ They begin to walk together, Yang leading the way. _

“My little sister would always say, 'early bird gets the cereal'!"  _ She smirks.  _ "I got used to waking up early when I was a kid. Usually to make breakfast for Ruby."  _ Yang recounts in a reminiscing manner. It was a story she had to tell many times before. _

“Wait…”  _ Blaze starts connecting the dots in her mind.  _ “Ruby is your little sister?”

_ Yang chuckles as they go down the dorm building’s stairs.  _ “Doesn’t look like it, huh? You can go ahead and say it.”

“Different parents?”

“Yeah… same dad, different moms.”  _ Yang’s expression drops slightly at this point. Blaze realizes it’s better not to touch upon it. _

“I see. Ruby is... pretty cool.”  _ Blaze moves to a lighter topic of conversation. _

“She wants to be a superhero, as far back as my memory goes.”  _ Yang says, gesturing a bit frantically as they reach the courtyard, taking the shaded path to the cafeteria. Blaze checks her scroll for the time.  _ “I’d read her these fantastic bedtime stories about kings and heroes who went on adventures and saved people. It would have… heh, the  **opposite** effect of putting her to sleep. She has grown up with this in her head since she could talk, and now… she’s here, blazing a path with the cool kids.”

_ Blaze looks at Yang with a sideways smile and a raised brow on her face. Yang shoots a wide “I’m not sorry” smile back at her, protective of her smooth pun. _

“You seem like someone she’s proud of.”

“It goes both ways.”  _ Yang replies in a longing, but content voice.  _ “I saw her grow up. I cannot say I have ever been prouder of anyone. And she has no way left to go but up.”

_ They go through the door to the cafeteria, where breakfast is being served. Both of them grab trays and immediately go for the pancakes. _

“I also wake up early over here so that Nora can’t snag all the pancakes.”  _ Yang jokes as they pick the rest of their food and drinks and seat side-by-side at a table. _

“How about you? No sisters?”  _ Yang inquires before eating a spoonful of scrambled eggs. _

“No… Just me and my parents in our house, to the cold south of Vale. Dad is a faunus, mom is human. It was mostly peaceful, if not… very, very boring.”  _ Blaze starts, cutting a slice of her pancake and continues after chewing it. _

“As for objectives…”  _ She swallows it. _ “I… didn’t grow up with much ambition. Small towns are hard to live in. I had to ride to another town to even go to school.”

“Oh my gods, that sounds really bothersome.”

“It was. But I did it with pleasure. It was all I had for a future. Then, when I became older…”  _ She sighs. _ “I quit.”

“Why?”

“These… people, you see, I joined their group with a friend. But to keep up I had to leave.”

_ Yang’s interest suddenly went up a level.  _ “What kind of group?”

“They were always on the move.”  _ Blaze said, trying to dodge the question.  _ “Fighting for what they believed was right for… us. There was unity, but I guess...”  _ Blaze stops to think, while sipping down her juice.  _ “I guess everyone there was moved by revenge, one way or the other.”

_ She exhaled heavily through her nose. Yang remained attentive. _

“Either way… those people began to take more than what it was worth, and do more damage than it was needed. My friend got separated from me when we realized how bad it was becoming. I don’t know what happened to her yet. Then, one day…”

“...You quit.”  _ Yang completes. _

_ She nods and visibly blinks, still addressing Yang, but staring blankly at her almost-empty tray. _

“Blaze...”

_ Her brawler comrade starts, shifting in her seat. Blaze turns to look at her, but her tone made her very unsure if she was ready for the question that Yang would shoot at her. She sighs in preparation, and Yang takes care to be quiet. _

“Was it the White Fang?”

_ Blaze nods. _

“Was that… where you met Blake?”  _ Yang follows up. Blaze closes her eyes, rubbing the bridge of her nose, and this time shakes her head. It was a lie. There were still many questions to be answered. _

“I want…”  _ Blaze says, opening her eyes, which denounce her hesitancy. Yang lets out a ‘hm?’ before she continues.  _ “Can you ask Blake to… meet up with me? There are some things I want to solve with her.”

“Sure, but… not yet.”  _ They get up to carry their trays back to the cafeteria’s kitchen.  _ “Blaze, look at me. You’re still too frightened. Relax a bit, clear your mind and your talk’s going to go a lot better.”

“You think so?”

“You sound like someone who has a lot to say, but you don’t know how.”  _ They reach the outside of the cafeteria and stop for a while. Yang puts a hand on Blaze’s shoulder. _

“Just hear me out, okay? I don’t know much about you, but from what it sounds like, you are not the same as you were back then.”  _ Blaze nods, ears low.  _ “Be honest, show her you are willing to listen and everything is going to be fine.”

_ Yang takes her hand off of Blaze’s shoulder and hears her name being called from afar. The rest of RWBY has woken up and are ready for the new day of school. _

“You can trust me on this one. I’ll keep quiet and let you handle everything.”

“Thank you kindly, Yang.”

“Catch you later!”  _ She says, running off and saying hello to her teammates. Ruby is faux-mad at Yang for not waiting for them, while Weiss is complaining something about “communication as a team” and “tardiness”. _

_ Blake, however, is only observing the quarreling calmly with her hands behind her head, before turning her head to Blaze, making a nervous, somewhat angry expression, catching the lynx girl off her guard. She sighs and tries to muster a smile, only for it to turn out more apprehensive than any other emotion she could be trying to express. _

_ At this, Blake turns her attention to her team and they walk back inside the cafeteria, while Blaze is left in the courtyard, feeling defeated and sitting at a nearby bench, legs spread and holding her head. _

_ A soft voice calls from above.  _ “May I sit with you?”  _ She follows it and spots the tiny bearer of rabbit ears. _

“Hey, Aurore. Of course.”  _ She greets, half-heartedly, while making space for her at the bench. Aurore makes herself comfortable near her, slowly growing less intimidated by her large companion.  _ "Where are the others?"

"Alice is laying on the grass somewhere on the Courtyard and… Tulip is coming here soon."  _ The rabbit faunus retells. Blaze nods in acknowledgement. _

"And you? Getting information on our future competition?"  _ Aurore says in a tone of jest as she watches the students come to and fro, trying to get Blaze to be less gloomy. _

"I like how this statement implies we'll be together until we grow older."

_ A red tint takes over Aurore's face as she begins making some sort of incoherent apology, saying it's not that kind of 'together' and that Blaze doesn't have to if she doe— _

"It would be nice."  _ Blaze says with a longing smile, not missing a beat. She sees her teammates arriving on the horizon, Alice basically dragging Tulip along with no care in the world. _

_ Aurore is surprised but, nevertheless, pleased after her initial reaction, so she just recomposes and sits back looking at the sky with a grateful smile, feeling like she made some progress with their stern leader — even if just a little. Baby steps, she guesses. _

"It would."  _ Aurore repeats, yawning right after and resting her head on Blaze’s shoulder. _

“Miss Céleste!”

“Uwah?”  _ She slowly drifts back awake in the classroom by a rough, accelerated voice and the stone-cold stare (At least it felt like it behind the glasses) of one Dr. Oobleck, their history teacher.  _ “What?”

_ He took a sip of his coffee thermos before trying to corner his lazy student.  _ “Ah, if you are asleep it can only mean one of two things!”  _ Oobleck glides closer to the tables that they are sitting on. Apparently it’s only her and Tulip in this class, and looking around she can see Jaune, Cardin, Pyrrha and Blake also attending. _

“Either my classes are extremely boring, or it may be that you are so well-versed on the subject that you have no need for them! So in order to judge that, tell me,”  _ He turns to the board and sips once more. _

“Who was the figurehead at the start of the White Fang’s violent protests and retaliations against humankind?”

_ She holds up a finger for him to wait a second and yawns.  _ “Sienna Khan.”  _ She replies with no effort, letting out a dazed smile, earning a slight smile from another rabbit faunus with brown hair sitting a few seats down. They trade friendly waves. _

“Perfect! Now, moving on…”  _ Oobleck glides back to the front of the class and continues his lecture about… something. _

“Where are we?”  _ Aurore whispers to Tulip, who is diligently taking notes. _

“A-ah… Oobleck, after Glynda and lunch. Blaze and Alice are in Peach’s class, but… Blaze is worried. I don’t know if she’ll be able to concentrate… hawa...”  _ They finish scribbling and closes their notebook. _

“About what?”

“Jaune… He — was defeated very easily by Cardin during Glynda’s class and she is afraid for him.”

“I understand… I hope they’ll be okay soon. Should we interv—"

_ Aurore’s speech is cut short by a curt, deep ‘Excuse me’ from someone behind them. _

_ The voice came from a tall girl with slanted, golden eyes and a wavy black mane, atop which sat a silky bow that Aurore swore she could see twitch slightly. She was calm, but stood with purpose. _

“How can we help?”

“Tell me where Blaze Mahogany is.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, just so I can get back into my game. Set during Jaunedice part 1!


End file.
